Super Netball expansion delayed as TV talks drag on

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Round five was the tightest weekend of Super Netball so far in 2026. Just 22 goals separated teams across the four games, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.

The bottom four challenged the top four. Both NSW sides showed there's still life in them yet and the Melbourne Mavericks and the Sunshine Coast Lightning fought over fourth place.

The Swifts were inspired by all the legacy talk of their 30th anniversary as a club and made the Vixens work overtime in Sydney to hold their undefeated streak, 66-59.

The cellar-dwelling Giants shocked everyone by leading for the majority of the game against favourites the Adelaide Thunderbirds. The 56-54 loss marked five straight for the team in orange and their worst start to a Super Netball season. But there was more positivity than negativity following the result as it was the closest they've come to a win throughout this campaign.

The Mavericks bounced back after three tight defeats, with a 62-53 victory over the Lightning in Queensland, while the West Coast Fever held off a surging Firebirds outfit in Perth, 58-54.

Big topics this week include the growing trend to call up retired greats and the news that expansion won't be happening next year after all.

If you missed it, don't worry — we'll get you up to speed with our Super Netball round-up.

Expansion off the cards for 2027

Expansion had been floated for next season to coincide with a new broadcast deal.

Netball Australia called for expressions of interest late last year and the submission deadline was enforced in February. The aim was to add two more sides to create a 10-team competition.

There are eight teams currently contesting the Super Netball competition. (Getty Images: Albert Perez)

At the 2026 season launch in March, Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis said the organisation had brought in independent assistants to help go through the proposals.

"We know that we need to provide more contracts for more players in more teams … that all comes at a cost and we've got to make sure that we can afford it," she said.

"We've had a huge amount of interest and what gives me great confidence is not only the number of expressions of interest we received but the quality of them as well.

"There is clearly an understanding about the value proposition of a Super Netball licence.

"We're still working through the process and hope to have an announcement later this year."

ABC Sport has tracked down two, potentially four, main parties moving forward in the EOI process. However, their dreams of entering the league have now been pushed back to 2028.

Partly because negotiations over the television rights have taken longer than expected. Partly because netball already has a lot on its plate next year, hosting the 2027 World Cup in Sydney.

A statement provided to ABC Sport on Tuesday read:

"Netball Australia continues to work through the EOI process for Super Netball expansion and we thank all interested parties.

"While the timelines for expansion are not feasible for 2027, we remain committed to exploring and evaluating opportunities for future growth."

Fox Sport has been the host broadcaster of Super Netball in Australia for the past five years across its various live and catch-up streaming channels. In 2021, it signed a reported $35 million TV deal that was propped up by a federal government grant for coverage of women's sports.

Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis says the sport needs to return to free-to-air TV. (Getty: Graham Denholm)

Without that sort of funding at play this time around, there have been concerns over how much the next deal may be worth and how much bargaining power netball holds. Netball Australia revealed the average audience per match was 57,000 in 2024.

Speaking with the Australian Financial Review about the sport's goal to attract 2 million players and fans by 2035, Ellis indicated there'd be some sort of return to free-to-air TV for Super Netball in 2027 — potentially in a partnership shared alongside Fox Sport.

"Foxtel has been a fantastic partner and they've invested enormously in our game," Ellis said.

"They're an important part of the mix but just having that reach is pretty critical."

The Newcastle Knights and Netball Tasmania have both confirmed they are in the running for Super Netball licences.

Sports Entertainment Group under Craig Hutchison acquired Collingwood's old Super Netball licence. (Getty Images: Paul Kane)

Mavericks' owner Craig Hutchison was also guaranteed first dibs at another team when his Sports Entertainment Network took over Collingwood's licence in 2023. It's not confirmed if he plans to take up that offer, but due to that arrangement, any proposal from SEN would seriously be considered.

The Geelong Football Netball League was thought to be another contender. When ABC Sport reached out to GFNL and SEN it was told they weren't in a position to comment at this time.

Could they be working together? Or is it two separate bids?

Although the Gold Coast Titans and Netball ACT expressed interest in the past and are still keen to join in future, they did not go through with the submission process this time.

Nine Kiwi athletes have left behind the ANZ Premiership to play Super Netball in 2026. (Getty Images: Fiona Goodall)

Lastly, there was also hope that Netball New Zealand might field a team of its own or that one of its existing ANZ Premiership franchises would jump leagues.

But that no longer seems to be an option, considering how cash-strapped the sport is across the ditch.

"Several franchises explored joining Australia's expanding Super Netball competition but have ruled it out as financially unviable," Radio New Zealand reported.

"Investigations were carried out by both the national body and local franchises … but the zones, who generally own and operate their ANZ Premiership teams, quickly realised it wasn't feasible."

There could be other private entities that submitted EOIs that we don't know about, of course. It is more likely, though, that Newcastle, Tasmania, SEN and GFNL are the last four standing.

The good news is that even if the next broadcast deal is worth the same or less than the last, several sources say players will not be expected to take a pay cut — the league or clubs will need to cover the shortfall.

This is important, looking at the growth of other women's sports in this country and how quickly Super Netball is starting to fall behind.

Interested parties are expecting to hear further updates on the expansion process in May.

Retirees getting call-ups

There's been a trend emerging over the past few seasons of calling past greats out of retirement to cover injury or pregnancies.

Casey Kopua (Giants), Nat Butler (Mavericks) and Verity Simmons (Swifts) have all made headlines for this reason in previous years.

Casey Kopua came out of retirement to play as an injury replacement in 2025. (Getty Images: Sarah Reed)

In 2026, four-time national netball league champion Romelda Aiken-George was signed by the Fever as a replacement for the pregnant Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. That means at 37 years old she's playing her 19th season and still managing to take her game to new heights.

Against the Swifts in round four, she shot 67 goals at 88 per cent to hit a new individual record haul for a national league game. In this round she marked her 250th cap and became just the second player ever, following Cath Cox (254), to reach that milestone.

This week there was also 2019 world champion Katrina Rore who returned for the Swifts as an injury cover for Sarah Klau and despite flying to Sydney just 24 hours before the game, managed to make an impact straight away with three gains, two intercepts, one rebound, one deflection and one pick-up.

Romelda Aiken-George retired at the end of last season with the Adelaide Thunderbirds before the West Coast Fever talked her into being a pregnancy replacement player for 2026. (Getty: Paul Kane)

The former Silver Ferns defender joined the team in similar circumstances seven years ago and helped them lift the Super Netball trophy back then. This time her stint is not supposed to be long term.

But this consistent move to turn to former legends has once again started conversations about the lack of opportunities given to up-and-coming local Australian talent.

Speaking on the decision to call Rore, coach Briony Akle pointed to the fact that the under-17 and under-19 national championships were in full swing and her team didn't want to disrupt NSW's chances.

They've also suffered three ACL injuries among their training partners and simply didn't have the depth to pull from the pathways on this occasion.

The growing trend probably speaks to the rigours and high standard of Super Netball and how sometimes you just can't beat experience at this level.